


Rose

by DarkNymfa



Series: DP Ficlet Collection [2]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Blood Blossoms (Danny Phantom), F/M, Ficlet, One-Sided Attraction, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkNymfa/pseuds/DarkNymfa
Summary: Valerie attempts to recover her relationship with Danny.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Valerie Gray
Series: DP Ficlet Collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749379
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt was "Rose" by phantasmapurple9. I strongly considered not writing Blood Blossoms... but then I wanted to write Valerie and this happened.

Paper crisped as Valerie repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist. Her nerves were killing her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so anxious, so _worried_.

And, sure, compared to some of the things she went through on a daily basis, it wasn’t a big deal. And maybe to some people it _wasn’t_. But it _was_ to _her_.

Because this could so easily go wrong. There were so many things that could mess up, that could stop her from succeeding. And she had thought it through well, considered as many possibilities as she could… But she couldn’t help but worry that she had missed something. She wasn’t used to _this_ , to planning ahead.

But it would be worth it. That, she was sure of.

She just… had to go and _do this_. Get over her nerves and approach the boy she was crushing on.

It wasn’t like he didn’t like her back! She _knew_ he does, or _did_ , at least. They had dated, after all. Only, she had broken up with him. Had been too afraid of him getting hurt because of her ghost hunting. Hadn’t known how she could keep him safe.

So she had stepped away, had left him. Had watched from the sidelines instead, for months. But her crush hadn’t died down, not in the slightest.

And Danny… He hadn’t shied away from her, either. He had been sad, of course. Had been heartbroken. But he still hung out with her. Still remained friends with her, despite everything.

And that didn’t make it any easier on her. Because she _wanted_ this, so badly. But she wouldn’t let herself date him, date _anyone_ , if she couldn’t protect them.

So, when her crush stubbornly refused to die down… She instead settled down for some research. Combed through any and all literature about ghosts and ectoplasmic entities she could find. Spend hours- days- _weeks_ \- looking for ways to keep Danny safe, without having to rely on her ghost hunting equipment. Because she couldn’t always protect him, not directly.

And, finally, she had found something. An obscure flower, little known and nigh extinct. A relative of the rose which apparently deterred supernatural creatures, especially ghosts.

It hadn’t been easy to acquire some. She had managed to track down a ghost enthusiast who was willing to sell her a few seeds, but she hadn’t had the money to pay for them. Instead she managed to talk the enthusiast into a trade, swapping information on ghosts for information on the flowers.

With a bond of trust thus established, she asked them if there was anything she could trade for the flowers themselves. The enthusiast had remained quiet for a long while, and Valerie had grown worried about losing her only shot.

Until the enthusiast had messaged her back, saying that they would trade as many seeds as she needed for a ghost. A _real-life_ ghost.

And really, she shouldn’t have done it. Who knows what kind of damage the ghost could’ve done in the hands of an enthusiast who likely didn’t even own any kind of weaponry.

But, she couldn’t let this chance pass her by.

So she had captured the weakest ghost she had ever come across. A sickly-looking ectopus which could barely stay afloat, and which didn’t even put up a fight. And then she duct-taped the thermos shut, and had mailed it off to the enthusiast.

She hadn’t considered how difficult it would be to actually _grow_ the flowers, unfortunately. Even with all the information the enthusiast had provided, it had been quite tricky. The roses were finicky, and it took her several months before she got the hang of growing them.

But, she had succeeded. And now here she stood, with a bouquet of a few of the fully-grown flowers in full blossom.

And she had to admit that the flowers were kinda pretty. The blossoming petals were incredibly similar to the roses they were related to, a deep red reminiscent of blood. The stems and leaves were a little more unique, a deep black which revealed itself to a be a deep purple in the right light.

Taking a deep breath, Valerie straightened out her spine and pushed her shoulders back. Then she summoned every last scrap of confidence and bravery she felt, and stepped towards Danny. She made sure to keep the bouquet behind her back, lest she ruin the surprise.

The boy heard her approaching and whirled around, a large smile on his face.

“Hey Val, what’s up?”

She smiled back, resisting the urge to ball her fists to relieve her anxiety. “Hey Danny. I, uh… I have something for you.”

“You do?” he asked, curiosity peaked. His eyes were big and sparkly and- _Valerie stop letting yourself get distracted darnit_.

“Uh, yeah,” she stammered, before remembering that she still had the bouquet hidden behind her back. She blushed, then shoved it roughly into Danny’s chest. “Here,” she bit out as she did so.

Danny had automatically grabbed the flowers, but dropped them as suddenly as he had received them. He flinched, backing away from the bushel of roses lying on the floor. He frowned at them, and then at her. She wasn’t sure what to think of his expression, the cocktail of emotions playing on his face too complicated for her to decipher.

Of all the ways she thought this could’ve gone wrong, this wasn’t one she had considered. She didn’t know what to think, how to react.

“Those are...” Danny started, but he trailed off before lapsing into silence.

“Blood Blossoms,” Valerie finished for him instead. Danny nodded, still frowning. “They were… supposed to be a gift. To make up for the breakup.” And to start their relationship anew, but she didn’t dare to say that. Not with how he had reacted.

“Oh.” Danny started to look increasingly distraught. “I- Thanks. I appreciate the gesture.” But he didn’t move to pick them up. Just stared at them. “Where’d you get them, anyway?”

“Uh. That’s… complicated?” She wasn’t sure how to explain, and she wasn’t sure why he cared, either. Did he… have something against Blood Blossoms? Was it because of his family? “Do you not… like them?” She tried not to sound hurt, but she was sure he could tell regardless. His face was an open book.

“I- No, sorry. It’s, um.” He made a face, then started to rub the back of his neck. A gesture of nerves, one she easily recognized. “I’m kind of… allergic. Sorry.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t… didn’t know.” She hadn’t thought that it was even _possible_ for humans to be allergic to Blood Blossoms. She thought they only hurt ghosts!

“You couldn’t have known,” Danny reassured her, smiling awkwardly. “It’s fine. I appreciate the gesture.”

She reached for the fallen bouquet, kicking it further away from her and Danny. “Still, I should’ve asked. Could’ve saved both of us a lot of trouble, huh?”

“Yeah,” Danny laughed. “I hope you didn’t go through too much trouble to get those.”

Valerie thought of the months of research and gardening she had spent on those flowers. Then she grinned, and said, “Nah.”


End file.
